Category Archives: Asia

Photowalk: Cebu City Carbon Market 1

The Carbon Market is the oldest and biggest farmer’s market in Cebu City, located in the central Visayas region of the Philippines. Now over a hundred years old, the market was used to be the old Cebu Railway’s depot of coal. That is how the market got its name. The Carbon Market, known to be [...]

Awa Odori: The Dance of the Fools 25

Awa Odori is a traditional dance festival originating in Tokushima City in 1586, when Lord Hachisuka Iemasa of Awa, the former name of Tokushima prefecture, hosted a celebration of the opening of Tokushima Castle.
“The locals, having consumed a great amount of sake, began to drunkenly weave and stumble back and forth. Others picked up [...]

Photowalk: Ginza, Shinbashi, and Akihabara 102

I met up with my friend Esa (aka @esa_raditya) last Sunday for a short photo walk. We walked from Ginza then down to Shinbashi, and hopped onto the Yamanote Line to Akihabara, where I also met Fernando (aka @HelloNavi) for the first time.
Also on that day, I met my photo and geek friends Jose (aka [...]

Marine Day: Hamaorisai in Chigasaki 50

Hamaorisai is held annually during the Marine Day (Umi-no-hi) in Chigasaki City, Kanagawa. Hamaorisai, which literally means “descend to the beach festival”, is a summer festival in which people take the mikoshi, or the portable Shinto shrine, into the sea.
The photos were taken from 4:00 to 7:00 in the morning on the 19th of July, [...]

Tanabata: The Wish Festival 30

Tanabata is a popular celebration in Japan which is, in modern times, held on the the first weekend of July. Also known as wish festival, Tanabata is derived from the Chinese star festival, Qi Xi (七夕 “The Night of Sevens”).
It celebrates the meeting of Orihime (Vega) and Hikoboshi (Altair). According to legend, the Milky Way, [...]